Building a studio in my garage....Would this work?

I ve read a lot of mind boggling info here, of course very usefull stuff, but i dont see a lot of people doing what ive been advised to do (by a very knowledgable friend in Nashville..studio musician, writer..). He was recommending i build what I think is an "inside out wall". He says to build the walls and leave the inside drywall (leaf) out and just install insulation and fabric over that. This sounds like it would be good for acoustical reasons but im concerned about isolation. My situation: Im building a 20'x10' room inside my garage. (if you can imagine a rectangle elongaded from left to right and starting with left wall then clockwise) 1. 1 wall(left) is already finished with drywall (living area on other side), 2. theres an unfinished wall with a 3x5 window(studs, plywood and stucco on outside). 3. im building a wall. 4. im building a wall with door. I hope this makes sense? I work mostly alone as a songwriter/guitarist. I play pretty loud sometimes (guitar amp) and my son plays drums (and i will be practicing drums occasionally) Not quite full blown band stuff(missing bass amp) but it can get pretty loud. My neighbors are very kind about us doing this in his room, but were pretty respectfull. I do work nights now and plan on working in studio late during the week. My biggest concern about the way he was advising me was the wall facing outside (the wall with the window). Im not sure enough sound containment would be achieved. Should I just build a full wall there and leave the unfinished wall alone? Another question. If i did build these inside out walls, i was thinking of using 2 layers of drywall(outside), regular insulation and oc703 inside the walls(since 2" 703 doesnt seem to fill the studs like i think it would need to), then fabric. Would this work to cut down the noise for my neighbors (note: all the walls are unfinished in my garage) I dont need a proffesional set up as i am mostly a hobbyist and work alone mostly. I have help from somebody with lots of building experience but NO studio experience, so IM having to tell him what we need to do. :shock: My floor: its concrete and im thinking about installing laminate with a throw rug. Would i be better off with carpet? Not going toward the floaiting floor as it seems overkill in my situation. Sorry so very long and i hope some of you made it through the whole thing! Any tips or drawings that anybody can suggest for me would be great. Yes, i am a newby here :oops:

He says to build the walls and leave the inside drywall (leaf) out and just install insulation and fabric over that. This sounds like it would be good for acoustical reasons but im concerned about isolation.

That is not an inside-out wall. In fact, it isn't a wall at all! It's just a large absorber... An inside-out wall just means that you put the drywall on the other side of the studs: it goes on the side facing the cavity, not the side facing the room. That is the only difference. You came to the right place: As far as I know, John Sayers is the guy who invented the inside-out wall, and this forum is the "home of the inside-out wall", so it would be hard to find a better place to learn how to do it right! The advice that your friend gave you is totally wrong. Just put your two layers of drywall on the "other" side of the studs. Make sure you have a large enough air gap (at least 4"). The studs will be exposed to the room, so you can use the stud space for whatever acoustic treatment your room happens to need: absorption, traps, slot walls, whatever.

My biggest concern about the way he was advising me was the wall facing outside (the wall with the window). Im not sure enough sound containment would be achieved. Should I just build a full wall there and leave the unfinished wall alone?

Your room has to be built the same on all six sides (or at least, five sides plus a thick concrete slab floor. Not building all walls the same is akin to building all of them like the weakest wall. Think of it like an aquarium: If you replace the glass in one wall of the aquarium with a piece of carpet, or a piece of cardboard, how well will it hold water? :) The same with your room: the isolation in the entire room, as a unit, is only as good as the isolation the you get from your weakest wall, door or window. The entire structure has to be built to the same level.

My floor: its concrete and im thinking about installing laminate with a throw rug. Would i be better off with carpet?

If you are going with inside-out walls all around, including the ceiling, then forget the throw-rug, and just leave a bare concrete floor, or bare laminate floor. And no matter which way you build. forget the carpet completely: Carpet on a studio floor is a bad idea pretty much always (unless you know the specific acoustic properties of the carpet the you will use, and they match exactly what you need in your room....) - Stuart -

Maybe I wasn't clear...sorry. I was intending to install drywall on outside of studs(2 layer). And leave the inside without drywall. Is this what your saying? It would go like this: dw,gg,dw,stud,insulation/oc703,fabric. Sound ok? Are you saying to build all 4 walls and not use existing walls? And if that's the case, should I do anything to the wall that's unfinished(long wall with window), or just leave as is? Thanks, I'm at work right now so can't ask the other questions that I'm sure I will later...I appreciate your input!

Pictures work wonders mfunk. While you are taking a few pictures so we can see what it is that you already know about, please read or re-read the stickies at the start page of the forums. Brien